Earthquake of magnitude 4.1 strikes southern Portugal

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck southern Portugal's tourist region of the Algarve on ​Sunday but did not appear to cause ‌any injuries or damage, the country's sea and atmosphere institute (IPMA) said.

The southern Lisbon region and the Azores ​archipelago lie in a seismically active ​zone marking the boundary between the Eurasian ⁠and African tectonic plates, though seismic activity has ​been relatively low recently.

IPMA said that the earthquake ​occurred at 7:59 a.m. and was felt in the cities of Lagos and Portimao, but based on available ​information it did not cause any personal ​injury or material damage.

The earthquake's epicentre was located in ‌the ⁠Atlantic Ocean about 70 km off Cape St. Vincent, it said.

The Portuguese capital was devastated by a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in ​1755, one ​of the ⁠deadliest seismic events in European history, estimated to have killed between 30,000 ​and 40,000 people.

The Lisbon region and ​southern ⁠Portugal have experienced periodic earthquakes since then, with the strongest in 1969, when a magnitude 7.9 ⁠quake ​killed at least 13 people ​and injured dozens, with its epicentre also located off Cape ​St. Vincent.

-Reuters